KOIN 6 News wanted to know what makes this time of year so good for spotting whales.

“Right now we are watching 18-20,000 gray whales migrate past the Oregon Coast,” Luke Parsons with Oregon State Parks & Recreation said. “They’ve been in Baja California all winter and now they’re heading back to Alaska for the summer.”

They’re tough to spot, but whale watchers in Depoe Bay got a chance to see a few whale spouts, which can reach heights of about 10-12 feet, on Monday.

“We have the good fortune to see them twice a year,” Parsons said. “We see them now and we will see them in December when they’re heading back south.”